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Updating Superbills for the New Year

Coding Corner - Updating Superbills for the New Year - Some of these code not active in 2011

Summer is ending and fall is just around the corner. Kids are going back to school, football season has begun, and for coders, it is the time of year when the first set of major encounter form revisions takes place. Form updates and revisions are an important part in maintaining the accuracy and correct coding of claims. The more up-to-date and relevant your encounter forms are, the less risk you will have for denials and decreased reimbursement.

Those tasked with the responsibility of revising or creating new encounter forms must review any code changes to see if they affect their practice. In addition, employees must navigate major holiday and vacation schedules by physicians and staff in order to generate viable encounter forms by the October and January implementation dates.
In short, life is busy and there is much to do over the next three months to prepare for the new year.

Code Changes

This year’s diagnosis changes include 122 new, 11 deleted and 10 revised codes (Continue reading below for more information on diagnosis code updates). In addition, several new immunizations became active as of July 1, 2010. The new immunizations include:

•    90664 – Influenza Virus Vaccine, pandemic formulation, live, intransal
•    90666 – Influenza Virus Vaccine, pandemic formulation, split virus, preservative free,                  intramuscular
•    90667 – Influenza Virus Vaccine, pandemic formulation, split virus, adjuvanted,                        intramuscular
•    90668 – Influenza Virus Vaccine, pandemic formulation, split virus, intramuscular- Check current Medicare policy

Note: CPT® 90654 (Influenza Virus Vaccine, split virus, preservative free, intradermal use) is also a new code, but its implementation date is not until January 1, 2011.

Flu and Pneumonia Shot Clinics

During the fall, it is very common for medical practices to hold a flu clinic for their patients. If you have many patients that schedule a visit for flu or pneumonia shots alone, it might be valuable to create an encounter form just for flu and pneumonia shots. Often, a flu shot form can be created in a relatively short amount of time and at a lower cost than standard encounter forms.